For eight days, hope and fear were all the Hooper family could hold. On the morning of August 12, 18-year-old Lily Hooper left a residence in Oakdale, New South Wales, with her plan to hike in the rugged, thickly forested Nattai National Park, roughly 80 miles southwest of Sydney. She did not return by evening, and loved ones grew desperate when she could not be reached. Police were alerted, and a large, multipelagency search began across terrain known for its brutal slopes, dense bushland and poor communications. Searchers found her vehicle parked near a walking trail on Wangan force, but…

1. Something unusual is happening in American journalism, and it isn’t about a scandal or a breaking news alert. It’s about a group of people who are normally rivals deciding to become teammates. In the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, fact-checking organizations across the United States are joining forces in a way that has never happened before. They are creating a shared newsletter, pooling their findings, and handing the results to the people who need it most: media professionals, content creators, election observers, and ultimately, voters. The announcement came from the International Fact-Checking Network, the global body that supports…